Criminal Assault? You Can’t Be Serious!

There are reasons to think that Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, is a jerk and in some respects a thug. But in my opinion, the decision by a prosecutor in Florida to charge Lewandowski with criminal assault in connection with his encounter with former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields is a joke.

The police report in the case says that “probable cause exists to charge Corey Lewandowski… with (1) count of simple battery… in that he did intentionally touch Michelle Fields… against the will of Michelle Fields.” That’s true enough, but if every instance where someone touched someone else against his or her will were prosecuted, just about all of us would be criminals. This is what the video shows–an unwanted touch, certainly, but hardly a criminal assault:

Why did the local authorities choose to prosecute Lewandowski? It came out yesterday that Palm Beach County’s States Attorney is Dave Aronberg, a former Democratic state senator and a high-profile backer of Hillary Clinton:

The Florida prosecutor whose office is handling the battery case involving Donald Trump’s campaign manager is a long-time Democrat and former state senator who’s now part of Hillary Clinton’s so-called Florida leadership “council.” …

Aronberg, who was elected to the post in 2012, has been listed as a member of Clinton’s “Florida Leadership Council” since November, along with several state senators, representatives and local elected officials. He also gave $1,000 to Clinton’s campaign in January, according to campaign finance records.

When asked about Aronberg’s political connections, a spokesman termed the question “inappropriate” and declined to respond.

As I have said before, Donald Trump’s rise has been fueled in large part by the overreactions of his enemies. He (or, in this case, his aide) will do something discreditable, but rather than leave it alone or respond in measured fashion, his opponents all too often go overboard, so that Trump becomes a sympathetic figure or appears, in the end, to be mostly in the right. This looks like one more in a long succession of such miscalculations by those who detest Trump.